My son was very young when he started carrying his epi-pens. He was also very physical so finding a way to protect his body from accidental injection was of utmost importance. I used cigar tubes attached to a belt. Then I bought a belt from MedicAlert. It worked well but was bulky and heavy. He wore it anyways. I just found a cool site that sells anaphylactic allergy accessories. Really well done. Wow, have things changed. http://www.allergyapparel.com/epinephrine-carriers-1/. Kids can fit in with everyone else with this stuff!
I taught him how to self-inject when he was around 5 years old. There was nurse down the street who had us over to help teach me and my son. I am scared of needles and the last thing in the world that I wanted to do was hurt him. The nurse looked at me like I was crazy. Seriously. She said "Who cares if it hurts him? If the needle breaks off...so what? He will be alive!" Huh. That was a life changer for me. True enough. My worries were silly and unfounded and could have risked his life.
I have since injected him several times with no issues whatsoever. I do strongly suggest that you drop their pants though.
One time, my brother-in-law injected him through his jeans. The needle bent in half. Yikes. Luckily I had another.
So, first strategy: Teach your child how to self-inject in an emergency.
Unfortunately, this is a life-skill for them and we parents cannot always be there.
Deathly allergic kids must be very practical and self-sufficient. They have to know that they are responsible for themselves. Such is life.
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